The more I appreciate volunteers

On August 18, we’ll have the opportunity to reconnect during the Blackberry Festival Street Party on Marine Avenue followed by the fireworks and I hope you’ll be there.

The more things change, the more I appreciate volunteers

By Isabelle Southcott

The Blackberry Street Party feels like old home week with people of all ages meandering up and down Marine Avenue chatting to people they haven’t seen in years. It’s a good way to visit with old friends, neighbours, and acquaintances. People who’ve moved away often make a special point of “coming home” at this time so they can see all their old friends in one place.

This community is famous for its fabulous festivals and events – July saw so many, including Logger Sports, Townsite Day, Tribal Journey, Texada Sandcastle Contest, the Fly-In, Savary Triathlon, and so much more.

COVID shut a lot of things down, including festivals and volunteer opportunities. Although many have come back in one way or another, some did not. People got out of the habit of going to events, some were nervous, or they found other ways to fill their time. Many pre-COVID events continue to run, but with fewer volunteers which means they can’t do as much as they once did.

Some call it the COVID hangover. We disconnected during COVID and many of us have struggled to reconnect. We forgot how to be part of a community, we forgot how to socialize and when we tried to do so, it felt awkward, so we pulled back.

It’s not easy to rejoin the community and ditch the hangover. When we were forced to change we did; now that we have a choice in the matter, will we change again?

Maybe. Change is hard, especially when you have no say in the matter.

I look at my garden this year and all I can think about is how much it has changed. On July 17, I harvested my first zucchini. The next morning, I walked the trails through Townsite and snacked on a handful of ripe blackberries.

The bushes were heavy with bundles of unripe, green berries that morning. In the sun, some of the berries had already turned a deep black and were ready to eat.

Later that day, while sitting at my computer at work, I read a story about ocean temperatures averaging five degrees warmer than normal at the beginning of July in South Florida.  Scientists say the warming, ignited by an El Nino weather pattern that’s collided with human-caused climate change and rising temperatures on land and at sea, are to blame.

I’ve lived in Powell River for more than 30 years and I’ve never harvested zucchini in July before. Zucchini were always an August harvest, something I picked towards the latter half of the month. As for blackberries, I picked them in August, not July. Change is everywhere.

It’s in the harvest, ocean temperatures, weather and yes, even the way we come together as a community.

One of the reasons this community is such a beautiful place to live, is because of our volunteers. Although their names may change over the years the love these people have for their community does not. The opportunities they create for all of us and the work that they do is selfless.

And most often, they do it with financial support of generous sponsors who own businesses in this community.

The next time you’re sitting on the fence and wondering whether getting up off the couch to go to an event, concert or festival is worth the effort, think of all the work volunteers did to put it on for you. Events, festivals, concerts, and live performances need audiences to survive and if we don’t support them, there will be a change and we might not like it.

If you’re asked to help out with a school bake sale, Parent Advisory Committee, sports or community group, change your focus. Ask yourself how you can help your community and get up and go.

|| isabelle@prliving.ca